Students awake to an almost endless to-do list every day full of a variety of tasks. Study for this class, write a paper for that class, go to work, go to practice, do the dishes, make food for the week. If we’re walking the dog, taking the kids to school and everything else in between, how do we manage our time?
Dividing your time properly between every day-to-day task is a skill we practice every day and while it can sometimes be a challenge, there are many different methods to perfecting the art of time management.
One method is called the Pomodoro Technique. This technique requires you to have a timer of some sort and can be repeated as many times as needed. Start a 25-minute timer on whatever device you are using to track time. Work on one specific task for those 25 minutes without interruption. Once the timer sounds, take a five-minute break. A 25-30 minute break is recommended after repeating this cycle four times. This is an easy way to split up larger projects to make them feel more manageable.
A more visual method to prioritizing and managing your time is a method called the Pickle Jar Theory. The Pickle Jar Theory will involve some imagination/visualization and categorizing of your everyday tasks.
To start, imagine you have a pickle jar that is empty. Now, pour a layer of sand on the bottom but don’t fill up the jar. Next, put a layer of pebbles in the jar on top of the sand. Still, don’t fill the jar just yet. Finally, put a layer of rocks on top. This layer will fill the jar. Each layer will represent different types of tasks. The sand layer is unwelcome distractions that can take you away from completing other tasks. Distractions such as social media, phone calls, emails and other things that disrupt you from completing tasks.
The layer of pebbles represents the responsibilities in your life that are not urgent or things that you can delegate to a later time. The rocks are the things that need to be done first and are more urgent. Delegate all your tasks for the day into each layer. Now focus on the rocks, put the pebbles on pause and avoid the sand.
For those who like planning out every minute and detail of your day, there is the time blocking method. Divide each day into small blocks of time and estimate how much time each task will take. These blocks can be any amount of time division you wish. You could do three-hour blocks, two-hour blocks or even six-hour blocks.
Assign each task to a different block of your day. Don’t forget to schedule in smaller breaks for yourself at the start and end of each task/time block. Work your way through the day one block at a time. You can adjust each block as needed if tasks take longer or shorter amounts of time than expected.
Time management can become easier with things such as daily planners. Practicing time management every day has proven to decrease stress, increase productivity and energy levels and open more time for you to do the things you really want to. Be the master of your time: don’t let it get away from you.
Categories: Editorials, Opinion
